5 Altamont School seniors named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists

Five seniors at The Altamont School in Birmingham — Hannah Ashraf, Lilla Carroll, Robert Pritchard, Tyler Walley and Maaz Zuberi — were recently named semifinalists in the 66th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

Carroll and Zuberi are Mountain Brook natives.

These seniors at Altamont join 16,000 other high-school seniors around the United States in receiving this honor, but that number represents less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors, according to a news release from Laine Williams, the school’s director of communication.

By becoming semifinalists, the seniors at Altamont now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30 million that will be offered in spring 2021.

“I am very grateful to have the opportunity to be a semifinalist,” Ashraf told Village Living. She is considering a college major in cellular biology.

“I am really thankful, and the scholarship opportunity is exciting,” said Zuberi, who added that he was “pretty surprised” to learn that he had become a semifinalist.

Zuberi would like to study business and computer engineering in college, perhaps through an interdisciplinary program.

Like Zuberi, Carroll was “initially very surprised to hear” that she was a semifinalist, she said.

Due to the “academic chaos” that stemmed from the COVID-19 pandemic this spring, Carroll said that she had forgotten about the National Merit Scholarships.

“Being a semifinalist is a great recognition and culmination of the work that I’ve put into school over the past few years,” she said.

Gender studies and political science are the college majors that Carroll is strongly considering, though she said she might also wish to do some work in environmental science.

Pritchard, who plans to study computer science in college, said that his selection as a semifinalist shows that “a lot can be achieved if you are willing to put in the work.”

Walley said he is “very proud” to have been chosen and that the achievement “represents hard work.”

However, Walley also expressed his gratitude. “I’m especially reminded of the privilege I have and opportunities I’ve been afforded,” he said.

Walley is learning toward political science as a college major, but said that could still change.

Over 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as the initial screen of program entrants.

The nationwide pool of semifinalists includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

The seniors all said they’ve enjoyed their years attending Altamont.

“The best thing about Altamont is the people,” Pritchard said. “I’ve gotten to work with some great teachers, and I’ve made some amazing friends.”

“The best thing about Altamont is the culture of collaboration and comradery that exists in the school,” Walley said. “It’s very much a positive-sum game here.”

Zuberi said that he most values “the relationships I have with both my friends and my teachers.”

Altamont “has an amazing community that is really supportive and collaborative,” Ashraf said. “All of the teachers and friends want the best for you and you want the best for them.”

Carroll celebrated the supportive environment made possible by the strong and meaningful relationships formed with fellow students and teachers.

“I’ve been able to fully engage in some interesting projects that would not be possible without that preexisting trust and familiarity in the class,” Carroll said.

Senior year is a major time of transition, however.

“The beginning of senior year, especially in 2020, is filled with a lot of loose ends, so I’m excited to start seeing things and experiences in my life become more certain,” Carroll said.

In addition, the future — which includes college — beckons for these promising students.

“There is a lot to look forward to right now,” Carroll said.

“As much as I love Altamont, I am really excited to start college to continue to grow and learn,” Ashraf said.

“I’m looking forward to going to college and being somewhere totally new,” Pritchard said. “Most of the colleges I am applying to are pretty far away, so anywhere I go will have a totally different culture and way of life.”

“I’m looking forward to a quasi-return to normalcy to finish off my senior year and to begin my time in college,” Walley said. “I hope to make 2021 as enjoyable as possible given the circumstances.”

Zuberi also expressed a desire to see the end of the pandemic and a resumption of “our normal lives.”

All five seniors said they are optimistic about the world, despite the challenges of COVID-19, climate change and other issues, and their optimism stems in part from a belief in their own generation.

“Optimism, when formed and utilized correctly, is an important condition for change, and I do believe in my generation’s ability toimprove upon the world we are growing up in,” Carroll said.

“I think that young people like Greta Thunberg and Lauren Howland are fighting an uphill battle for global change but there is definitely more civic engagement among kids my age and a passion to fight for issues we care about,” Ashraf said.

“I think my generation needs to come together and act as one rather than being divided,” Pritchard said. “If everyone tried to protect the environment, we could make a huge change.”

“I think our generation can create real structural change in our society to aid and strengthen the less fortunate,” Walley said.

“I think our generation has been better taught how to deal with issues like social justice and climate change,” Zuberi said. “As these problems become more prevalent, it is up to our generation to make the world better.”

“One thing that I consider central to our potential as a generation is our growing aversion to passivity,” Carroll said. “We possess a real willingness to openly express and advocate for our ideas, and I think that will continue to be incredibly impactful.”

For more information about the school, visit altamontschool.org.